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Shielding and Buildup Tutorial
Shielding and Buildup Tutorial
Shielding and Buildup Tutorial
Gamma Exposure Fluence Rate Equations For an explanation of the fluence rate equations used in the unshielded and shielded calculations, visit this US Health Physics Society webpage: http://hps.org/publicinformation/ate/faqs/gammaandexposure.html It is a very good white paper by George Chabot, CHP, PHD that takes you from electric charge produced in the air by the photons to a usable equation and also explains where the simplified rule of thumb R/hr = 6CEN equation comes from. Linear Attenuation Shielding Formula:
I B = I A * e x
Where:
I B = the shielded dose rate I A = the initial dose rate = the linear attenuation coefficient in cm
x = the shield thickness in cm The linear attenuation coefficient can be considered as the fraction of photons that interact with the shielding medium per centimeter of shielding. This coefficient assumes that all photons that interact are removed and ignores Compton scatter and pair production photons (underestimates the shielded dose rate and the shielding required). It is also known as narrow beam conditions because the source and detector are assumed to be collimated and the measurement made at a short distance.
No photons are scattered. The only way to make this happen is to side and back shield the source and the detector (collimate). This only applies at close distances though. Further away, the air scatters the photons in real life. This is idealistic and without the collimation or at a longer distance, the dose-rate is underestimated
Shield
Detector with side shield collar Detector end only exposed (collimated detector)
I B = I A * e en x
Where:
I B = the shielded dose rate I A = the initial dose rate en = the linear energy absorption attenuation coefficient in cm
x = the shield thickness in cm The linear energy absorption attenuation coefficient can be considered the fraction of energy removed from the photons by the shielding medium per centimeter of shielding or the fraction of energy absorbed. This coefficient takes into account Compton scatter and pair production photons but it assumes that all scattered photons reach the detector (overestimates the shielded dose rate and the shielding required). It is also known as broad beam conditions because the source and detector are assumed to be uncollimated.
Scattered electromagnetic energy included (but all scattered photons are assumed to reach the detector) This is unrealistic and overestimates the shielded dose-rate.
Unshielded detector
Unshielded source
save hundreds of yards of concrete and time to pour it. Monte Carlo code is a must then. If one has a small source to ship and needs to calculate a pig thickness, the difference between 5 or 6 centimeters of lead may not matter. Linear Attenuation Shielding Formula With Buildup:
I B = I A * b * e x
Where:
I B = I A * (b1 * f 1 * e 1x + b2 * f 2 * e 2 x + b3 * f 3 * e 3 x ... + bi * f i * e i x )
Where:
bi = the buildup factor for each energy (up to the ith energy) at the shield thickness x i = the linear attenuation coefficient for each energy (up to the ith energy) in cm fi = the fraction of IA that comes from each photon energy (e in MeV) =
ei * n i
e
i
* ni
ni = the yield or probability of emission factor for each atomic decay for each energy x = the shield thickness in cm This formula attempts to estimate the correct number of scattered photons that reach the detector (closest estimate) for each energy by using correction factors to add in the Compton scatter and pair production photons that are ignored by the linear attenuation coefficient formula. Attenuation and energy absorption coefficients can be found on line at: http://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/XrayMassCoef/tab3.html and
http://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/XrayMassCoef/tab4.html The numbers in the table are mass attenuation coefficients and the mass energy absorption coefficients or / in cm2/g. These represent the fraction of photons removed and the energy removed respectively per unit density of material. You have to multiply the table factors by density in g/cm3 to get the linear factor equivalents in cm. Buildup factors are obtained from tables available for a cost from the American Nuclear Society. They are not available online anywhere that we could find. http://www.ans.org/store/vi-240180 You have to calculate the number of relaxation lengths, R or mean free paths (mfp) to use the table. x = 1 relaxation length or 1 mean free path (MFP) = ln(IB/IA) Where is the linear attenuation coefficient and x is the shield thickness Your energy will end up in between two numbers as will your number of relaxation lengths. You will have to do a 4 way interpolation between the four values that you obtain from that table. For Co-60, you have two energies, so you will have to do the four way interpolation twice, once for each energy. Each energy will have its own MFP value because each has its own value. With isotopes that have multiple energies (Ra-226 with daughters has well over 26 energies) it gets complicated and the math by hand or even with a spreadsheet would be intense. That is why we developed computer code to do all of that work for you. On the last page is a typical buildup factor table for tungsten. Ray McGinnis, MIT Rad Pro Calculator Software Development
R(mfp) 0.015 0.5 1 1.0 1 2.0 1 3.0 1 4.0 1 5.0 1 6.0 1 7.0 1 8.0 1 10.0 1 15.0 1.01 20.0 1.01 25.0 1.01 30.0 1.01 35.0 1.01 40.0 1.01 500.0 1.163333333 1000.0 1.33 5000.0 2.663333333 1.0E+50 3.33333E+46
Energy MeV 0.02 0.03 1 1.01 1 1.01 1.01 1.01 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.02 1.01 1.03 1.01 1.03 1.01 1.03 1.01 1.03 1.01 1.03 1.127949 1.183333 1.256154 1.35 2.281795 2.683333 2.56E+46 3.33E+46
0.04 0.05 1.01 1.02 1.02 1.03 1.03 1.04 1.03 1.05 1.03 1.06 1.03 1.06 1.04 1.06 1.04 1.07 1.04 1.07 1.04 1.07 1.05 1.08 1.06 1.09 1.06 1.1 1.06 1.1 1.06 1.11 1.07 1.11 1.53 1.723333 2.03 2.39 6.03 7.723333 1E+47 1.33E+47
0.06 1.03 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.09 1.1 1.1 1.11 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.16 1.17 2.09 3.09 11.09 2E+47
0.069 1.04 1.06 1.08 1.1 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.17 1.19 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 2.62 4.12 16.12 3E+47
0.07 1.65 2.38 4.56 8.79 17.7 36.9 77.5 156 308 1230 4.32E+04 1.67E+06 6.89E+07 2.99E+09 1.35E+11 6.19E+12 5.63E+14 1.17E+15 6.01E+15 1.21E+62
0.075 1.62 2.3 4.2 7.63 14.4 28.1 55.4 105 197 707 1.93E+04 5.95E+05 2.00E+07 7.08E+08 2.59E+10 9.69E+11 8.77E+13 1.82E+14 9.37E+14 1.89E+61
0.08 1.6 2.23 3.89 6.64 11.7 21.4 39.4 71.5 125 402 8490 2.08E+05 5.60E+06 1.58E+08 4.59E+09 1.35E+11 1.21E+13 2.52E+13 1.3E+14 2.61E+60
0.09 1.52 2 3.1 4.62 7.03 10.9 17.3 27.6 43.4 107 1290 1.88E+04 3.01E+05 5.01E+06 8.47E+07 1.45E+09 1.27E+11 2.64E+11 1.36E+12 2.73E+58
0.1 1.44 1.81 2.52 3.31 4.32 5.71 7.62 10.4 14.1 26.5 160 1.22E+03 1.02E+04 8.79E+04 7.73E+05 6.88E+06 5.69E+08 1.18E+09 6.07E+09 1.22E+56
0.11 1.37 1.63 2.05 2.4 2.75 3.15 3.6 4.15 4.86 6.7 17.6 5.85E+01 220 8.68E+02 3.53E+03 1.47E+04 1042340 2159340 11095340 2.23E+53
0.12 0.13 0.14 0.15 1.31 1.26 1.22 1.19 1.5 1.39 1.31 1.26 1.74 1.52 1.39 1.3 1.88 1.58 1.41 1.32 1.98 1.6 1.42E+00 1.33E+00 2.08 1.62 1.43 1.34 2.16 1.63 1.44 1.35 2.24 1.64 1.44 1.35 2.33 1.65 1.44 1.36 2.53 1.65 1.45 1.37 3.16E+00 1.66 1.47 1.4 3.95E+00 1.67E+00 1.48E+00 1.42E+00 5.23 1.67 1.50E+00 1.44E+00 7.40E+00 1.67E+00 1.51E+00 1.45E+00 11.2 1.67 1.52E+00 1.46E+00 1.78E+01 1.68E+00 1.53 1.48 625 462 2.45 3.32 1285 463 3.45 5.32 6565 471 11.45 21.32 1.32E+50 2E+47 2E+47 4E+47
0.2 1.12 1.15 1.19 1.22 1.25 1.27 1.29 1.3 1.32 1.34 1.4 1.44 1.48 1.51 1.53 1.55 3.39 5.39 21.39 4E+47
0.3 1.11 1.17 1.26 1.32 1.37 1.41 1.46 1.49 1.52 1.58 1.69 1.78 1.86 1.92 1.98 2.03 6.63 11.63 51.63 1E+48
0.4 1.14 1.24 1.38 1.5 1.6 1.68 1.76 1.84 1.91 2.03 2.31 2.53 2.71 2.87 3.01 3.13 14.17 26.17 122.17 2.4E+48
0.5 1.17 1.3 1.5 1.67 1.81 1.95 2.08 2.2 2.31 2.52 2.99 3.39 3.72 4.02 4.28 4.52 26.6 50.6 242.6 4.8E+48
0.6 0.8 1 1.19 1.22 1.23 1.34 1.41 1.44 1.59 1.74 1.82 1.81 2.03 2.17 1.99 2.29 2.49 2.17 2.54E+00 2.81 2.34 2.8 3.13 2.5 3.04 3.13 2.65 3.27 3.44 2.94 3.71 3.75 3.57 4.74 4.34 4.1 5.64 5.77 4.56 6.44 7.06 4.96 7.17 8.24 5.32 7.84 9.34 5.66 8.46 10.4 36.94 65.5 11.3 70.94 127.5 117.3 342.94 623.5 965.3 6.8E+48 1.24E+49 2.12E+49
1.5 1.21 1.43 1.84 2.25 2.66 3.08 3.52 3.96 4.4 5.33 7.78 10.4 13 15.7 18.2 20.7 250.7 500.7 2500.7 5E+49
2 3 4 5 6 8 10 1.23 1.24 1.23 1.27 1.27 1.31 1.29 1.44 1.44 1.4 1.45 1.46 1.54 1.53 1.86 1.81 1.74 1.78 1.79 1.95 2.04 2.3 2.23 2.13 2.16 2.17 2.43 2.67 2.75 2.69 2.56 2.59 2.61 3.01 3.49 3.22 3.18 3.03 3.08 3.13 3.73 4.53 3.72 3.73 3.57 3.65 3.73 4.59 5.85 4.24 4.32 4.17 4.28 4.43 5.63 7.54 4.77 4.93 4.81 5 5.23 6.89 9.67 5.89 6.3 6.3 6.71 7.22 10.3 15.8 8.94 10.4 11.3 13 15.3 26.7 52 12.3 15.4 18.3 23.3 30.3 66.4 164 15.9 21.2 27.7 39.3 57.1 159 499 19.6 27.7 39.8 63 103 367 1.47E+03 23.5 35 55.2 97.6 180 827 4.21E+03 27.4 42.8 74 146 307 1.82E+03 1.18E+04 386.2 760.4 1803.6 4598.8 11991 93176 710080 776.2 1540.4 3683.6 9438.8 24691 192476 1469080 3896.2 7780.4 18723.6 48158.8 126291 986876 7541080 7.8E+49 1.56E+50 3.76E+50 9.68E+50 2.54E+51 1.99E+52 1.52E+53
15 1.32 1.65 2.38 3.41 4.89 6.98 9.92 14.1 19.9 39.4 210 1.07E+03 5.19E+03 2.45E+04 1.13E+05 5.08E+05 36848000 76348000 3.92E+08 7.9E+54